Patients are finding a new application for generative AI in healthcare, this time helping them search online for their doctors, according to a rater8 survey obtained via email.
Patients aren’t abandoning online provider reviews and Google searches just yet, the survey showed. But as patients expand the way they learn about new providers, healthcare organizations might consider how they can work with new AI-generated search queries.
More patients using AI tools to find a doc
It’s not unheard of for patients to look online to find a new healthcare provider, with the industry mostly embracing the role Google search and online provider review websites, like Healthgrades or Zocdoc, play in healthcare consumerism.
But according to this latest survey, nearly three-quarters of patients are using other tools to find a new doctor. For nearly a third of those patients, AI tools like ChatGPT have filled a key role. Instead of querying Google, patients are increasingly likely to ask a generative AI platform for a new provider recommendation and find more information about those providers.
Other common tools for finding providers include health insurance portals (38%), voice search like Siri (25) and social media.
Critically, patients trust the recommendations that generative AI give them, with 26% saying the technology has actually swayed their choice in a new provider. A similar number of patients said a primary care referral or referral from a healthcare review website swayed a care access choice.
Overall, 23.4% of patients said they’d trust AI just as much as their own research about a provider. More patients — about a third — said they’d consider input from AI tools but still need to use other sources of information to choose a provider. Very few patients (6.6%) said they don’t want AI involved at all in their provider search process.
A similar trend emerged when comparing AI with standard Google search results (not Google’s AI Overview). Just under a fifth (18.6) said they trust AI-generated results more than standard Google results, but it was most common for patients to weigh the two sources equally. About a tenth (11.3%) of respondents said they don’t trust AI-generated search results.
Still, although AI-generated search results are almost entirely tech-powered, it’s the human touch that’s salient for patients.
Nearly 4 in 10 patients said they trust AI-generated search results because they provide verified patient reviews, indicating that patients want to hear from their peers to learn about providers. Fewer respondents valued AI’s ability to summarize a provider’s credentials or convenience factors, such as location and availability. Few patients (5.3%) valued AI’s personalized recommendations.
Online reputation, provider reviews still matter
To that end, it’s still important for healthcare providers and organizations to keep a clean and updated online presence.
The vast majority of patients (84%) still use online provider reviews, the survey authors said, and around half of them read at least six reviews before committing to a provider. For 40% of patients, a negative online provider review can keep them from booking an appointment.
Meanwhile, 45% of patients said they value providers who respond to negative online reviews, saying that it helps build trust.
But it’s not just managing online reviews organizations must focus on. In addition, they need to make sure that the information about their providers and clinics is all accurate. For example, clinics need to make sure they have an accurate and updated list of providers and their specialties, as well as key details about the practice like the hours it’s open and whether it offers telehealth appointments.
This will ensure patients are getting the right information when they explore a practice or provider using generative AI.
Social media has growing influence
It’s been no secret that social media has a growing influence in terms of patient education and access to health information. This latest survey also showed that social media is increasingly informing patients’ appointment booking habits.
Overall, a fifth of patients had chosen a doctor based on their Facebook, Instagram or TikTok presence. Another 16% chose a doctor based on their YouTube presence.
Although these figures represent a growing social media influence, it’s still fairly uncommon for patients to choose their providers this way. A sizeable 57% of patients said they’ve never chosen a doctor based on a social media profile.
Still, it’s incumbent upon healthcare providers to keep track of this trend and adjust their clinic’s social media presence and protocols where necessary.
These findings reflect a healthcare landscape that continues to be shaped by consumerism. As tools like generative AI and even social media become even more ubiquitous, they are likely to affect everything in healthcare, including how consumers shop for it.
In order to maintain healthy margins, healthcare organizations must adapt. Assessing the organization’s online footprint not just for online reviews but for logistical information will be essential as AI is prompted to aggregate more information about healthcare options.
Sara Heath has reported news related to patient engagement and health equity since 2015.